MatchMakers
by theLilyLady
Summary: Beast Boy is too chicken to ask Terra out, so Raven and Robin decide to help him out. In between matchmaking their fellow Titans, Raven and Robin also have to fight the baddies, and save Raven from her destiny. THE PLOT THICKENS! Pariings are RR and BBT
1. chapter one

"Dude! This is your chance..." Beast Boy muttered to himself as he paced restlessly in the dark hallway right outside the meditation room. "She's right in there...just go in and ask her"

"But what if she doesn't like me??"

"You know, they say that speaking to oneself is the first sign of madness..."

"Robin!" Beast Boy said alarmed to see a tall figure step out of the shadows. "How long have you been standing there..."

"Long enough." Robin smirked and added "if you're looking for Terra, she's in the meditation room...alone."

"W...what do you mean..." Beast Boy stuttered, blushing.

"I'm sure she'll say yes."

"But dude, what if she doesn't?" Beast Boy said, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration and worry. "What if she doesn't like me? Will you ask her for me?"

"Me? No way...I mean I can't..." Then upon seeing the downcast look on Beast Boy's face, Robin said "But I know someone who can find out if she likes you."

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Raven was sitting at her favourite spot, reveling at the peace that she found on the top of the Tower. The golden sun was rising in the far off horizon, its rays setting the sea ablaze. A playful sea breeze ticked her neck with the ends of her silky black hair and sent cold shivers down her spine. She cursed herself for forgetting to bring her cloak with her. She had come to meditate, but the nagging thoughts at the back of her head kept on distracting her. The annoying freezing sea breeze wasn't helping either. She had to meditate. This could be her only chance until she was distur...

"HEY RAVEN!"

Raven cringed. Even after years of friendship, that voice still made her want to crush something.

"This had better be good Beast Boy..."

"We just came to ask you a favour" Robin said, his voice all businesslike.

Raven raised one slender eyebrow at him and he gave her a heartwarming smile.

"A favour,,," she said suspiciously, glad that the wind cooled the blush on her cheeks, "What kind of favour."

"Well..." Beast Boy said; his face heating up, "We...Ouch!"

Robin had sharply elbowed him in the ribs

"Ok, I.... was, wondering...if you could ...readterrasmindtoseeifshelikesme"

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"Could you...read Terra's mind...to see" Beast Boy forced out, his face turning more purple with every word" "ifshelikesme" he said in a rush.

"Oh?" Raven said with a wicked smile "Why do you want to know?"

Beast Boy stuttered incoherently as he tried to come up with an adequate excuse to Raven's "innocent" question. Robin gave Raven a disapproving glare. He knew she was purposely teasing Beast Boy.

Raven caught Robin's silent message and rolled her eyes. With a sigh, she said. "It's alright Beast Boy. You don't have to tell me why...and no, I won't"

"WHY!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Oh please Raven!!! For me?" Beast Boy said, turning into the cutest little kitty with hugest eyes.

Eyes that didn't soften Raven resolute façade. "No, I'm not reading anybody's mind for you"

"But why?" Beast Boy said "you gotta! You're the only one who can"

"Well then. Too bad you weren't born with telepathic powers. Then you could read all the minds you want"

"Come on Rave" Robin pleaded.

"No" She said turning away from him so she wouldn't have to see the disappointed look on his face. It was much harder for her to say no to Robin, God only knew why.

"Well, you could always talk her and find out," Robin said.

"Yeah! Great idea Dude" Beast Boy said happily "Well Raven? Will you do it?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't... She began; fully intent on refusing when Robin whispered to her, "If Beast Boy and Terra become a couple, he won't be bothering you half as much"

"Ok I'll do it" She said immediately. Robin knew her too well...damn him. "Where's Terra, the sooner I get this done with, the quicker I can get back to my meditation"

Robin watched Raven as she walked to the stairs, with Beast Boy prancing around her with cries of joy. He knew she wasn't meditating when they had interrupted her and Robin wondered what she had been thinking about. A smile tugged at the ends of his mouth as he watched her smack Beast Boy hard on the head to shut him up. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she really did care about her friends...yeah, even Beast Boy. He just wondered if she would ever be able to love...


	2. chapter two

After threatening Beast Boy with drowning, electrocution and all sorts of torture conceivable to man, Raven had finally convinced him that eavesdropping on her conversation with Terra was not a good idea. Heading for the meditation room, Raven thought back to the time when Terra had joined the Titans.

When Starfire had left for Tamara, everyone was miserable. Raven missed her terribly though she didn't show it. It was hard for her to be the only girl stuck in a tower full of hormone crazy boys, all who seemed to be incapable of a single meaningful conversation...maybe with the exception of Robin. But she couldn't tell him everything. Then Terra joined them.

Beast Boy and Terra and hit it off really well. Raven didn't know how the girl did it, but Terra could be Beast Boy's crazy accomplice in ridiculous pranks and still have the spirit and mental ability to keep her destructive earth powers under control. Raven really admired her strength, and Terra soon filled the void that had been Starfire's absence.

The girls had become fast friends and meditating was more enjoyable when done with Terra nowadays.

Raven opened the door to the meditation room; it was the only door in the tower that needed to be opened the old-fashioned way. It was a dark mahogany door with beautiful carvings of stars, suns, moons, trees and flowers all over it. With an old brass knob and a huge brass keyhole, Raven had known that it was the perfect door the moment she saw it.

"Hey Raven"

"Hi Terra" Raven said as she sat down next to Terra on the meditation mat. With her powers, she lit the aromatic candles that Terra had bought. As the scent of mango and frangipani filled the tranquil little room, Raven calmed her mind and emotions. When she was certain that she was ready, Raven opened her eyes and studied Terra.

She looked so peaceful with the sun streaming down her golden hair. More than once, Raven had wished that her black hair was like Terra's, bright and vibrant, or like Starfire's, alive and glowing. But no...she was stuck with black. Terra wasn't as beautiful as Starfire, but Raven thought that Terra was pretty, with her striking blue eyes and mischievous smile; it was no wonder that Beast Boy liked her so much.

"What are you thinking?" Terra said without opening her eyes.

This was it. Let the prying begin.

"I was just wondering what you thought of us" Raven said

"What?" Terra opened her eyes and stared at Raven questioningly.

"It doesn't matter if you don't want to answer...I just wanted to know what you thought of us....as friends"

"Oh...ok" Terra said flipping her hair over her shoulder. "What about you ask me questions."

"Alright." Raven said. How to not make the fact that what she really wanted to know was whether Terra liked Beas Bboy, she thought. "Ok, first off, Cyborg."

"I think he's really cool." Terra said. "He's sort of like a big brother..you know what I mean?"

"Yeah I do." Raven said with a smile. If Big brothers were graded, Cyborg was a definite A. He was always looking out for Starfire and her. Now it was Terra and her.

"So...what about Robin?" Raven asked. If she asked about Beast Boy last, Terra wouldn't be so suspicious.

"He's a good leader. Sometimes he's just a bit too competitive..." Terra faltered, unsure of whether she should be badmouthing her leader to his best friend.

"I know what you mean." Raven said with a small smile. "He just won't admit it when I beat him at scrabble."

"Ha ha...well, I think that it helps with his leadership skills." Terra said, and added when she saw the rare smile on raven's face "I think he likes someone."

"Really?' Raven said, careful to keep her voice monotone. Her smile disappeared.

"I'm not sure he even knows it yet." Terra said "But..."

"Alright. Now, Beast Boy..." Raven said, trying to hurry the conversation along so she wouldn't have to hear what Terra had to say next.

"Ok..." Terra hid a knowing smile and said without thinking "he's cute"

It was Raven's turn to smile. "Really..."

"No! I meant...it's like...he's really funny." Terra sputtered. "He's just really nice. And understanding. And caring. And a GOOD friend."

"I understand what you mean." Raven said, smirking at Terra's attempts to cover up her blurt of feelings for Beast boy. "I'm going to get some lunch" she said, and headed for the door.

"Wait." Terra said, stopping Raven in her tracks, "Aren't you going to ask me about you?"

"Uh...ok." Raven said, berating herself for being so careless. Now Terra was bound to be suspicious. "What do you think about me?"

Terra took a deep breath and said, "I know it's difficult for you to express emotion without blowing up things, so you keep a wall around you...but there are times when you let that wall fall. And it's then where you show how much you really care. Even if sometimes what you do or say is not very significant, we all still know." Terra paused for a second, "I admire you for your strength and control over your powers and mind. And I'm really proud to be your friend."

Raven was so touched. Her porcelain façade weakened a little and her eyes shone with suppressed emotion. These were the words Starfire had said to her before she left earth. The air around her trembled as a wave of energy radiated off Raven, and she quickly threw a tight rein over her emotions. When she had regained control she said "Thank you Terra. That...that means a lot to me."

"Anytime Raven." Terra said. Even though Raven's voice was deadpan, Terra could tell she meant it. Terra knew that hidden under Raven's icy exterior was a caged heart that yearned to love and be loved. It was just the matter of finding the key...and risking the possibility of frostbite to get to her heart.


	3. chapter three

Robin looked up from his magazine when Raven walked into the living room. She looked lost in her thoughts. "Well? How did it go?" Robin asked

Raven gazed unseeingly at him. "Fine..."

"Are you alright?" Robin asked "you seemed a little spaced out."

"It's nothing." Raven said, then focusing her eyes around the room, "Where's Beast Boy?"

"In the kitchen" said Robin, studying her body language. She looked relaxed, but Robin could tell that she was a little tense. She had something on her mind and it rather annoyed him that she wouldn't confide in him. "No matter, I'll drag it out of her later" Robin thought, then said "I think he's baking you a cake."

"Without tofu?" Raven asked hopefully.

"This IS Beast Boy you're talking about right?"

Raven groaned and tried to ignore Robin's laughter as she trudged to the kitchen.

"RAVEN!" Beast Boy cried excitedly. He slammed the oven door close and ran to Raven, shooting her with questions, "So? How did it go? Did she say yes? Did she suspect you? Does she know? Why aren't you saying anything? Speak to me! Why aren't you speaki..."

SLAP

"Calm down Beast Boy" Raven said bluntly as Beast Boy howled with pain, "Sit down and I'll tell you what happened"

Rubbing his smarting cheek, Beast Boy sat obediently on the kitchen stool and looked at Raven in eager expectation.

"You better start talking Rave, he looks as if he's about to die of anticipation" A voice said from the doorway.

Raven hadn't realized Robin had followed her into the kitchen.  
"I was just getting to it when you rudely interrupted me" she said icily.

"Well sorry, I just came in to see if Beast Boy needed any rescuing."

"Rescuing from what exactly?"

"Don't you mean who..."

"You..."

"SHUT UP!" Beast Boy yelled, "Robin, be quiet and Raven, start talking"

"Wow, he's really seri..." Robin started to say but stopped when Beast Boy shot him a murderous glare, "shutting up"

"Well, Terra didn't actually say she likes you" Raven said "but I think she does"

"YOU THINK?" Beast Boy yelled, his face purple, "Am I supposed to ask her out based on an assumption that you made up?"

"Wow, Beast Boy...that was actually intelligent, coming from you," Robin said with wonderment in his voice and received another furious glare, "shutting up."

"Look, I know she does," Raven said

"Are you definitely sure?" Beast Boy asked uncertainly.

"Am I an empath or not." She said angrily.

"You read her mind?" Beast Boy said "I thought you said you weren't going to."

"An empath doesn't read minds Beast Boy," Robin explained smoothly, "Raven reads emotions."

"Yes and Terra's emotions clearly state that she likes you," said Raven and muttered to herself, "and they say love is blind."

"Funny, "Robin said quietly in her ear, "some people say that love is all-seeing"

"That just goes to show you how fickle people are with love," Raven replied coldly, and took a step forward to put some distance between the boy wonder and her.

Beast boy was ecstatic and changed into every imaginable animal, as he cantered, pranced and flew a victory dance around the kitchen. Then, morphing into a cat, he leaped into Raven's arms and snuggled her neck. Robin half expected Raven to throw Beast Boy out the window, but to his surprise a small smile appeared on her face. Robin looked on with amazement as Cat/Beast Boy purred happily while Raven stroked his back and was startled when he felt a twinge of jealously.

BEEPBEEPBEEP

"My cake!" Beast Boy exclaimed, morphing back into human form. He hurried to the oven and took a small white cake. After placing it on the counter, he cut a slice the equivalent to a third of the entire cake and proudly presented it to Raven on a plate. "Try it! I made it for you."

"Err...Beast Boy..."Raven said, looking to Robin for help. Unfortunately for her, he just gave her an evil grin. "I don't think I deserve..."

She was cut short when Beast Boy stuffed a huge mouthful of the tofu cake into her mouth. Robin promptly cracked up laughing.

Raven painfully swallowed the mouthful and gave Robin her most poisonous glare. Then turning to Beast Boy, she said sweetly, "It's really good Beast Boy. I think Robin should have some."

Robin immediately stopped laughing. As Beast Boy advanced on him with a happy grin upon his face Robin's mind scrambled to think of some kind of an excuse.

"I don't think I should be eating Raven's thank-you cake..."

"Nonsense," Raven said evilly from behind Beast Boy, "I don't mind at all. In fact, I insist"

"But..." Apparently opening his mouth was a mistake, Robin thought, as it was immediately stuffed full with cake.

Raven snickered nastily behind Beast Boy's back.

"Here you guys, have some more," Beast Boy said as he placed the cake on the kitchen table along with an arrangement of two plates and forks. He was practically beaming from the success of his cake. Robin and Raven felt horribly trapped.

"Uh Beast Boy, you know now would be a good chance to ask Terra out," Robin said.

"Do I look alright? Do I smell good? Does my hair need a cut?" Beast Boy said nervously.

"You look fine, your hair doesn't need a cut" Raven said, her eyes giving him a once over "and you smell...err...go take a shower first."

Beast Boy rushed out of the kitchen to the washroom and both teens gave a sigh of relief. Robin stared at direction the changeling had disappeared to and silently wished his friend good luck. Then turning to Raven, he was about to start interrogating her about her space-out in the living room when he was shocked speechless to see her put a forkful of cake into her mouth.

"Raven..." he said hoarsely, "Are you insane?"

She simply rolled her eyes at him and swallowed," It's actually quite good you know."

"Who are you and what have you done with Raven" Robin said.

"Robin, don't be stupid."

All Robin could say was "Why?"

"How should I know why this bloody cake tastes so bloody good," Raven said, putting another forkful of tofu goodness into her mouth. She chewed slowly, enjoying both the taste of the cake and the appalled look on Robin's face. Swallowing, she asked, "Would you like some?"

Upon seeing the distrust on his face, Raven plastered her most endearing smile on her face- at least she hoped it was endearing.

"Would I ever lie to you?" She said innocently.

"Is this some sort of a trick question?"

"Shut up and eat," Raven snapped and swiftly shoved a mouthful of cake into his mouth

There was a moment of silence as Robin chewed, his face showing no emotion whatsoever. Raven sat back and patiently waited for his verdict on the cake.

"Ok, fine," Robin said grudgingly after he swallowed, "It's not as bad after the first mouthful"

"I told you so," Raven said through a mouthful of cake.

"You don't have to be so smug about it," Robin retorted, cuting the remaining two-thirds of the cake into half.

"This coming from the King of Arrogance?"

"I'm not arrogant," said Robin, "I'm just ... confident."

"I believe the more fitting word for you is egotistical?"

"I am not egotistical."

"You have more ego in that swollen head of yours than the amount considered healthy" Raven said, daintily spearing each crumb on her plate with her fork.

"Well, since I suffer from an ego overdose, I should have the last piece, "Robin said, claiming the last third of the cake with his fork, "after all, isn't tofu full of healthy goodness for the brain."

"Well in your pitiful case, all the goodness would just be wasted you" said Raven and stabbed g her fork into the same piece. "Now would you kindly remove your fork from MY cake?"

"Well, you did insist that I have some."

"Obviously your ego filled head has trouble thinking straight, I said some, not all."

"Now look who's not thinking straight, I didn't eat all of it. And besides, I'll be saving you from unwanted calories."

There was a long uncomfortable pause...

"Are you saying I'm fat?" said Raven in a low, dangerous voice.

Realizing his mistake, Robin quickly rambled on, "Sorry, that was my egotistical self speaking...you know people say the darnest things when they are nutritionally starved."

"You don't need tofu cake to reduce your ego, just give me a crowbar and five minutes alone with you."

"What about you forget the crowbar and just have five minutes alone with me?"

"Flirting isn't going to save you from your smartass remark Robin," Raven said angrily, "and your charming boy wonder routine doesn't work on me, so just give me the damn cake."

"Make me."

The tug of war with the tofu cake ended with Raven accidentally disintegrating it when Robin's thigh brushed hers during their struggle. With the object of their attention now destroyed, Raven got up to do the dishes. Taking her silence for anger, Robin said nothing and helped her load the dishes into the dish washer. As Raven turned to go back to her room, Robin realized that he didn't want her to go...


	4. chapter four

"Hey Rave, you wanna go see how Beast boy and Terra are doing?" Robin said, immediately regretting he said it. Raven wasn't one to eavesdrop on other people.

There was a moment of silence then…

"Alright," Raven said, and followed him to the meditation room.

Robin was surprised that she had accepted his offer. She normally didn't do things like this. When he reached the door to the meditation room, Robin knelt down to be at eyelevel with the huge brass keyhole, motioning to Raven to do the same.

"What are you doing?" Raven hissed.

"Eavesdropping" Robin said quietly, confused by her question.

Raven gave a snort that sounded a lot like "amateur" and sauntered down the hallway, "Come with me Boy Wonder and I'll show you how eavesdropping is done."

Robin took a quick peek through the keyhole to see if Beast Boy and Terra had heard them, then hurried after Raven.

"What took you so long?"

Robin skidded to a stop and spun around to see Raven leaning against her bedroom door with her arms folded across her chest. A few persistent sunbeams shone through the openings of the dark blinds of her window, casting an ethereal glow around the room. With her mysterious amethyst eyes framed by dark, long lashes peering out of a curtain of black glossy hair, she looked like a beautiful enchantress. Robin suddenly felt breathless; it was as if she had cast a dizzy spell over him.

"Robin? Are you alright?"

He heard Raven's concerned voice sound in his head. With some considerable effort, he banished all thoughts of enchantresses and magical spells to the back of his head and giving her a weak smile, he said teasingly, "See? You should have let me have the last piece of tofu cake. I feel so weak."

She rolled her eyes at him, grabbed his sleeve and pulled him into her room.

"I don't get it. How are we going to spy on Beast Boy and Terra if we're in here?"

Raven felt his curious gaze on her back as she rummaged through her closet for her…

"Found it" She said happily and took a large ancient chest out of its dusty resting place.

"What is that?"

Raven ignored his puzzlement and sat lightly on her bed. She gently blew the dust off the cover and opened it revealing a beautiful…

"A mirror? We're going to spy on them through a mirror?"

"It's not just any mirror," Raven said dreamily, lovingly stroking its oval ivory frame, "It's magic."

The bed sagged as Robin sat next to her. Raven motioned for him to come closer and placed the mirror on their laps, not noticing the faint blush that coloured his cheeks. An incantation poured forth from her lips and to Robin, it sounded melodious and full of power. Their reflections in the mirror faded away and so the spying began …

Beast Boy was standing outside the meditation room nervously shifting from one foot to the other. He had taken a quick shower, brushed his teeth, waxed his hair, changed his clothes five times and taken twelve fresh mints in the short time of ten minutes. And finally when he looked presentable, he had walked calmly to the meditation room and was prepared to knock when…

'What if Raven's wrong?' he thought.

She had said Terra liked him. And Raven was always right…right? Oh how he wished he had more confirmation. All he had was what Raven thought- not that what Raven thought wasn't important… (Just in case she was reading his mind)

"Get a grip man!" He ordered himself. It was now or never. Time to take the plunge. With a slightly trembling hand, Beast boy reached for the door…

"Beast Boy!"

"Terra!" Beast Boy yelled in shock.

She beamed at him from the doorway making his insides flutter pleasantly.

"Did you want something? Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy tore his gaze away from her great smile and fixed them on her forehead. 'Don't look at her eyes' he thought. One look was all it took for him to get lost in those big ocean blue eyes that made him think of…Damn! Look up! Look up!

"Err, I…ah…" He stuttered, "have to talk to you."

"Oh? What about?" said Terra, "wait, come in first."

The first thought that crossed his mind when he stepped into the room was that the air smelled good enough to eat. Sunlight streamed through the windows and formed pools of light on the richly carpeted floor. There were scented candles ; on the mahogany bookshelf crammed with meditation books, around the elaborately carved elephant table and in each individual little 'pots' on the walls that Beast Boy remembered Robin hammering up. The rest of the room was filled with various cushions of all different sizes and colours, scattered haphazardly everywhere.

Beast Boy sat down on the largest cushion and watched Terra as she made an 'armchair' out of several others. When she was seated and comfortable, Terra turned to Beast Boy, ready to give him her full attention and froze…

All she could see was Beast Boy's soft green eyes. Their color reminded her of a serene forest; calming her suddenly quickened heartbeat. There was no reason to feel breathless, she told herself, all she did was build her armchair too close.

'Sorry" she said automatically, but strangely, she didn't feel sorry at all.

"For what?" He said with a little grin on his impish face.

Terra didn't know how long they sat there staring into each other's eyes. All she was conscious of was the increasing pace of her heart beat and the heat on her cheeks. He smelled heavenly, like soap and blueberries. Come to think of it, the boy was looking good today. 'Am I really thinking these thoughts?'

"Uh, for…um…" her blush deepened, "hogging the cushions." She finished lamely.

"It's ok; I'm not really a cushion kinda guy anyway."

Beast Boy knew he shouldn't have looked into her eyes. But it was inevitable. Besides, it was her who had looked at him, mesmerizing him with those vivid blue eyes of hers. Anyway, he didn't mind staring aimlessly into Terra's eyes. It made him feel all warm and bubbly inside. He leaned a little closer….

Suddenly, Beast Boy heard voices. THE DOOR! SOMEONE WAS AT THE DOOR! Jumping a foot into the air, Beast Boy broke eye contact with Terra and landed hard on the floor. Terra was at his side in a flash.

"Are you alright?" she asked, her eyes full of concern.

"Yeah…" He couldn't believe it. He had come so close to kissing her!!! "Yeah, I'm alright…" He got up very carefully and slowly, rubbing his sore rear end. "Told you I don't like cushions."

Terra considered asking him why he jumped. She wondered what would have happened if he hadn't broken their trance. Would he have kissed her?

"So…err, Beast Boy. What did you want to talk to me about?


	5. Interlude

Hey all readers,

Just to clear up any confusion about the whereabouts of Starfire, Terra's rewritten history with the Titans and so on...

Ok, Starfire got called back to Tamara to become queen because she was the next in line for the Tamaranian Throne. She also got betrothed to a hot alien guy whose name I have yet to think of -(any suggestions?).

Terra never betrayed the Titans. The Titans met her during a mission after which he was what I guess you could call a 'rogue' superhero that helped the Titans out sometimes. She only officially joined the Teen Titans after Starfire left Earth, when Raven finally snapped at the pressure of being the only girl in Titan's Tower.

The meditation room thing was my idea. I really couldn't see Beast Boy romancing Terra in the living room or anywhere else, so I created my own backdrop. Complete with romantic candles and all. For any other stories related with the meditation room, check out **Paintwars**, at 

Ok, Right. So Raven and Robin are best buds. I mean, Beast Boy's got Terra, Star's in Tamara and Cyborg has...his car. So Robin and Raven are stuck with each other. There will be more RR stories, some of them will be based during Starfire's time on Earth, and the others are when Star's gone. I'll probably have some alternate reality ones too...hmmm...that's food for thought.

Ok, I hope that clears up your questions and inquiries. If you're still confused about anything, or if I missed anything out, just send it in a review.

Thanks for reading, appreciate the reviews

theLilyLady


	6. chapter five

"I err....um" Beast Boy gulped "have you ever been to a fair?"

"What?"

At that exact moment, in Raven's room

"WHAT?"

"What?" Robin startled by Raven's yell, turned to see her glaring at the image of Beast Boy in the mirror.

"Did that idiot get me to have girl talk with Terra, just so he could ask her if she's been to the fair?" Raven hissed and absently ran her fingers through her hair. "She deserves better than this beating around the bush. I wish he would just bloody ask her out already!"

"Hush now, little one," Robin said soothingly, patting her hand like one would a frustrated child, earning a furious glower from Raven. "Don't worry; I think Beast Boy knows what he's doing..." She looked so cute when her dark eyes flashed with irritation.

Meanwhile, in the meditation room

Terra was confused. Whatever he had come talk to her about; fairs had definitely not been what she was expecting.

"Uh...no, I haven't."

"Err...good..." Beast Boy felt as if he was burning inside.

'Just ask her man!' said a voice in his head.

'I can't! What if she turns me down?' cried a hysterical voice.

'CHICKEN!' another voice yelled, joining in the fray.

'I am not!' whined the other

'Chicken boy! Prk, prk, prk, prk, prk!'

'QUIET!' Beast Boy yelled mentally and the voices stopped.

"Beast Boy, why did you wanna know?" Terra said smiling her brilliant smile at him

"Because...I...cause...err" all of a sudden, he couldn't think.

'Prk! Prk! Prk!'

'Be silent!' he thought crossly

'Tell her the truth' the first voice said.

'I can't!' whined the wimpy voice.

'PRK!PRK!'

'SHUT UP' yelled the first and second voices.

"I wanted to know because I'm taking you to the fair." Beast Boy shouted, driven to his wit's end from the annoying voices in this head.

Raven's room

"Wow...that was masterful." Raven said sarcastically at Beast Boy's outburst.

"I think his eye is twitching..." Robin said, peering intently into the mirror.

"It's the voices in his head."

"The what?" said Robin, giving Raven a look of utter confusion.

"The voices in his head are his inner voices." Raven said plainly. When Robin's face showed no signs of enlightenment she continued in an exasperated voice, "his conscience! His scruples! His sense of right and wrong!"

"What about them?" Robin asked innocently, staring at her with all the keenness of an young interested mind.

Raven shut her eyes, took a long deep breath and counted mentally to ten. Opening them, she explained through gritted teeth. "The voices in one's head are usually a form of their conscience or ways in which..." She paused slightly at the sight of the giant smirk forming on Robin's face- the jerk was deliberately teasing her. Narrowing her eyes, she continued on smoothly, "In which their mind tells them to fry annoying little robins who ask stupid questions in hot boiling oil. Do we have an understanding or am I going to have to give you a practical lesson?"

Robin grimaced at her threat and said apologetically, "I get the message, loud and clear."

Raven gave him a wicked smile, "That's a good boy. Now shut up."

Raven turned from him and focused her attention to the forms of Beast Boy and Terra in the mirror. She didn't feel Robin's gaze linger on her face and didn't see the happy grin on his face.

In the Meditation room

Terra was speechless. Never had she seen Beast Boy so serious and frustrated before. It was definitely something she could get used to....

"So, are you going to come with me or not?" Beast Boy demanded, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

"I...uh..."Her eyes downcast, cheeks burning and heart racing, she was aware of him staring fixatedly at her, waiting for her answer.

"I really like you and have wanted to ask you out since last month," said Beast Boy hotly, clutching her hands in his, "so will you please stop tormenting me and say yes!"

Terra felt her heart soar. So, the feelings she had for him wasn't an unrequited love after all. Barely stifling a happy cry, she lunged into his arms and kissed him on the lips.

Beast Boy felt a river of molten gold flow through his veins as he held on to Terra. Her lips, butterfly light on his, were making his world spin in giddy swirls around him. Wrapping his arms tighter around her waist, he deepened the kiss, taking in all that was her. At that very moment, everything faded away till nothing existed but them.

They finally parted, breathless and hearts racing, both sharing silly grins.

"So, should I take that as a yes?" said Beast Boy

"Would you like some confirmation?" she said playfully and promptly threw her arms around him for another taste of heaven.


	7. chapter six

**Chapter 6**

"Well, that was interesting." Raven placed her mirror carefully back into the chest and levitated it back into her closet.

"Yeah…" Interesting was the only word Robin could think of to describe Beast Boy and Terra's serious infatuation with each other.

Robin studied at the black-haired beauty sitting next to him on her bed. Her eyes roamed the room, and she seemed quite determined to look anywhere but at him. The air was crackling with tension as the awkward silence grew.

"So…"Robin wondered what he'd have to say to Raven so he could stay in her room.

"So..." Raven wondered what she'd have to say Robin to get him out of her room.

"We…should do this more often."

"What, spy on people?" Up went her eyebrow.

"That's not what I meant…though what else can your mirror do besides that?"

"My mirror enables me to look into the past, present and future."

Robin thought for a moment. "Do you think you could get it to show me who's been stealing my brownies?"

"…no"

"Why not?" he said with the beginnings of a smile.

"Because…" Raven said, scouring her mind for an adequate reason, "I already know who ate it."

Robin's eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "Really, so tell me. Who stole my brownies?"

"It was Beast Boy." Raven lied immediately, without so much as a blink of an eye. It wasn't really her fault that she had a weakness for anything with chocolate. Besides, placing those scrumptious brownies in full view of anyone who opened the fridge was like handing the person an open invitation.

"Well… I have another suspect in mind" Robin gave her one of his infuriating I-know-something-you-don't smiles, "Besides, Beast Boy couldn't have eaten the brownies."

"And may I ask why not?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Because the brownies contain egg and we all know Beast Boy doesn't eat anything with egg because…"

"Because he's a bloody vegetarian." She grumbled and plopped down onto the bed.

Her arms were folded tightly across her chest, an angry pose that would have been quite daunting if it wasn't for the fact that she was lying flat on her back. Her brow, faintly crumpled by her frown, framed a pair of obstinate eyes that had turned the color of dark wine. All in all, she looked more like a sulky child than a powerful sorcereress. 'She looks so adorable when she is angry' thought Robin, glad that Raven didn't read minds, else he be turned into bird food instantly.

"Cyborg ate them…he eats almost anything anyway." stated a deadpan voice

So, she still wasn't willing to confess. Robin chuckled evilly to himself. If she wanted to play cat and mouse with him, it was fine. After all, he had no problem playing the role of _cat_.

Raven knew that she had made a terrible mistake, trying to pin the blame on Cyborg. By doing so, she had released the _beast_. If there was anything Robin liked more than being an arrogant, smartass; it would be playing bad detective. In all her years as a Titan, she had never known a person to be impervious to the dark side of Robin. Even she sometimes got uneasy.

She sensed rather than saw Robin shift into full predator mode; his aura darkened and his senses became more alert. 'Me and my big mouth' Raven scolded herself, watching warily as Robin lowered his body, moving with a lazy catlike grace, until he lay beside her, Cleopatra style.

"Raven, Raven, Raven…"he said softy, "I'm rather disappointed in you."

"And I care because?" drawled Raven, wishing she didn't feel so vulnerable on her back

"Because you, being Cyborg's friend and fellow Titan, should know him much better than that…"

She stared vacantly at the ceiling in all pretense of boredom.

"Cyborg is allergic to chocolate."

Raven froze. She hadn't known that. How could she have not known that?

"So if Beast Boy and Cyborg did not eat my brownies, that would leave…"

"Terra" she growled, barely keeping her temper in rein.

Robin smirked, "True, but Terra couldn't have eaten the chocolate because she was on a diet."

"What is it with you and calling girls fat!?" The bed shook violently and pictures started falling off the walls.

"I have never, or will I ever, insult a girl's about her weight." said Robin calmly when the rocking had subsided, "Though I really think you should eat more, I can practically count your ribs."

"Never mind about my ribs." Raven snapped, "You bloody well implied that Terra was fat, and just hours before, told me to cut down on my calories, now doesn't that sound like insults to you?"

"Rave, I know what you're doing. Stop trying to change the subject."

"I'm not tr…" she defended

"Yes, you are." replied Robin "one would almost think you had something to hide…"

"I do not."

"We shall see." Robin said. "Terra, of her own accord, went on a diet on the same week that my innocent brownies were kidnapped and brutally eaten. Since her diet rules her out of the list of culprits that leaves only one last suspect…"

Raven casually flicked an invisible speck of dust off her cloak, "For all I know, you could be the criminal mastermind."

"I could?" Robin lifted an amused eyebrow.

"Yes, after all, who would suspect the injured party? You could have gorged yourself silly on those brownies, and then staged their disappearance as a kidnap, knowing fully well that no one would even think of pointing the blame your way!" In her heated outburst, Raven had pushed herself up so that she at eye-level with Robin.

"This is all part of your elaborate scheme to obtain more brownies by making us feel sorry for you; so much that we would buy you more fudge brownies!"

Robin watched, eyebrow still poised, as Raven stopped to take in a few gulps of much needed air. Her usually pale cheeks were prettily flushed and her hair sexily mussed from lying down. Robin went warm all over and felt overwhelmed by an incredible urge to pull Raven into his arms and kiss her senseless. He wanted to make her smile. To hear her throaty laugh in his ear. God knew he wanted to be more than just her friend; he wanted to share with her something more than just their friendly conversations and arguments. He wanted…love.

Raven didn't know whether Robin was amused, angry or just pensive. He was staring at her intently, his expression blank. She never could read his emotions the way she could with others anyway. Everything he felt was all hidden behind that mask of his. His stare was setting millions of little explosions off on the top of her skin. It was a prickly sensation, a little uncomfortable, but strangely enough…quite enjoyable.

Raven gave herself a hard mental smack. 'Concentrate' she told herself fiercely. It was probably one of his detective traps. He just wanted to confuse her with his unnerving stare. Well, there had to be some other way to get him to stop other than beating him into unconsciousness…

"Robin, are you even listening to me?" Raven asked sharply, leaning in closer to poke Robin's chest, noting how exceptionally well toned his muscles were.

Robin blinked, clearing the mental image of Raven as stunning moon goddess out of his head. He breathed an internal sigh of relief. Now she looked like herself. Raven. Not sexy bed-headed beauty. Just Raven. But the warm sensation in his body had not gone away. To make things worse, Raven, although back to looking herself, still looked very _very_ attractive.

'WHAT?' screamed his mind, yanking Robin back into reality. Raven was his friend. It was wrong, not to mention sexually immoral, for him to be thinking about her in _that_ way. Now she was looking at him weirdly. 'Answer her question you idiot!' his mind yelled…err, what was the question again?

"Yes, I am listening." Said Robin, "and in response to your rather…passionate analysis of my stolen brownies, I have nothing to say but -- BULLSHIT."

Raven opened her mouth to give him a verbal lashing but he cut her off smoothly and went for kill.

"Besides, I never said my brownies were _fudge_ brownies."

She was shocked speechless. Then shock turned into humiliation, and humiliation, shame. Her stupid slip-of-the-tongue had handed victory over to him on a silver platter. Now was time for what she hated most: Surrender and a much-dreaded apology. There was no way out for Robin had won fair and square; how she hated that smart-aleck boy wonder.

"I'm sorry for eating your blasted brownies." She said stiffly, "but I'll have you know that they were asking for it. No fudge brownie should ever be allowed to look so delicious."

Robin couldn't help but laugh at Raven's absurd excuse, earning himself a resentful glare from her.

Raven was beside herself in anger. She had humbly offered an apology! And the jerk had the audacity to laugh at her! Raven narrowed her eyes at him. A sure sign of war declared; one that he would have seen if it were not for the fact that he was too busy laughing. With the swift speed and strength of a striking snake, she lunged at an unsuspecting Robin, shoving him entirely off the bed.

Unfortunately for Raven, Robin's reflexes were nothing short of spectacular. As Robin fell off the bed, he threw out his hand and grabbed her arm; catching her as one could say, red handed. The force of Robin's heavy fall gave Raven's arm a painful jar before she also, followed him off the bed with a yelp of surprise.

Raven landed on something warm and hard. By instinct, she had screwed her eyes shut when she had fallen off the bed. Now she opened them; and found herself mere inches away from Robin's face.

Robin felt rather out of breath. Her sudden attack had taken him on unawares. But thanks to his marvelous reflexes, he had been able to pull Raven down with him. Now, if he was lucky, the pain in his back would go away in about a millennium. Though now with Raven's soft body lying atop of him, the pain was quickly forgotten, as all his senses were gradually overwhelmed by the nearness of _her_.

Raven was so near to him that her nose was filled with his scent. No one in the world would ever have the same smell as Robin. She could recognize his smell anywhere. It had always comforted her, his smell, though now it aroused something else in her…_excitement_. She watched as if in a daze as he lifted his hand to brush a stray hair behind her ear, barely covering her sharp gasp when his hand moved down to caress her cheek. He was so gentle. Raven felt that she should pull away, but she couldn't find the strength or the will to do so. Her body and mind had turned into jelly the instant he'd touched her.

Robin's heartbeat quickened as the anxiety in his heart thawed away. He hadn't been able to stop himself from stroking her cheek; it was so soft. He was afraid that she would have shunned his touch or worse, be disgusted at him. But she hadn't.

Raven didn't understand what was happening to her. Her feelings for Robin were evolving into something new, something unknown. She felt so elated, so much so that it frightened her. She didn't like change. Change could always be for the better or for the worse, and Raven had seen too many outcomes of the latter to welcome changes into her life.

'It's now or never," Robin thought as he slowly raised his head to close the remaining distance between them. He could still picture her face clearly; her eyelashes fluttered like the butterfly wings as she closed her eyes, her lips were full and inches from his.

Their lips met in a tentative kiss, then separated only to come together again with more urgency than the first. Robin deepened the kiss, surprising Raven when he slipped his tongue through the gap of her lips. She shuddered at the touch of his tongue on hers as wave after wave of euphoria caroused through her body, wiping her mind blank of all thoughts. At that moment, all that mattered to her in the world was Robin. Not justice, not power, not control...

'CONTROL' that single thought echoed in her mind, jolting her out of her ecstatic stupor. Her emotions were out of control, leaving her powers free to run amok! Panicking, Raven pulled immediately away from Robin and scrambled onto her feet. Everything in her room was levitating in midair and they dropped onto the ground, one by one as she had cleared her mind of all emotion, especially the one she had experienced when Robin kissed her.

When her emotions were carefully suppressed behind her schooled mask of solemnity, Raven looked down impassively at Robin. How dare he look confused! Her lapse in control was his entire fault! If he hadn't kissed her…if he hadn't made her feel…

"Never _ever_ do that again" Raven said in her coldest voice. The door burst open with a loud bang. It was obvious that she wanted him to go.

Robin was devastated. How could such a wonderful thing end so terribly? He stood up and hesitantly reached a hand out to Raven. He wanted to give her comfort, support, something, _anything_ to put some expression on her emotionally blank face. Where was the Raven who had so passionately returned his kiss just seconds ago?

"Raven…" he said, faltering when she gave him glare as icy as her voice had been.

What was there to say? He could apologize, but for what! For kissing her? For having feelings for her? For wanting her to feel for him in return?

Then it struck him. Her emotions, emotions that she'd spent her whole life hiding, were tied to her powers. To have her feel for him could ultimately weaken her control on her destructive powers. That was why she'd pulled away from him. There was nothing he could do to help her other than to leave. So he did.

Raven slammed the door after Robin and sank to the ground, cradling her knees in her arms. She felt so tired, both emotionally and mentally. There was a growing ache in her heart and it felt like…regret. If only Robin hadn't kissed her and made her feel that new emotion. It was so powerful and intoxicating that it threatened to overpower her mind, body and soul. And what scared her most was that she wanted it to.

Raven took in a deep breath and proceeded to clear her mind. Feelings like that had to be suppressed…forgotten. She had to stay emotionless in order to keep her powers in control. And if Robin made her feel…then she had to stay away from him.

Hey peoples, sorry about the delay in this chapter. I was away on holiday. Anyway, I think this chapter was well worth the wait, don't you? And don't stress too much, there's still more to come for Raven and Robin.

theLilyLady


	8. chapter seven

It was a brilliant plan.

Why hadn't he thought of it before?

He had watched them everyday; he knew them each, intimately.

His observations had told him that something was amiss.

But the answers had long eluded him

Until now…

So now was the time to act.

Whilst they were oblivious and unguarded.

He would need help…

And he knew just where to get it.

There was no doubt about it.

If everything went according to plan,

Robin was going to get what he deserved...


	9. chapter eight

Beast Boy was in a good mood. The sun was shining brightly, the birds were singing sweetly and the sky was the purest of blues; with the exception of Terra's breathtaking eyes of course.

She was his girlfriend. Oh yeah, Beast Boy got himself a girlfriend. He felt like singing and dancing but on the account that he would die of horror and humiliation if anyone caught him doing so, he restrained himself. But just barely.

He made his way down the corridor, with a spring in his step and a happy grin on his face, whistling all the way. The kitchen was calling him and there was just absolutely nothing that could go wrong on such a wonderful day…

"AIYYEEEEEEEEEE!"

Beast Boy clamped his mouth shut, cutting off the high-pitched girlish scream emitting from his person in mid shriek.

"Raven! What are you doing in the middle of the hallway?" he squeaked.

The darkness divided and a shadow stepped forth into the light, revealing a slight girl no taller than he. Beast Boy cringed with embarrassment. Imagine being freaked out by a girl. Well, in his defense, her pale face had looked very ghostly in the shadows. And her vehement glare...he shuddered. Furthermore, Raven had the most disconcerting and annoying habit of appearing out of thin air.

She gave him one of her significant looks as she passed him; though strangely, Beast Boy felt that it lacked its usual venom. Her eyes looked worn and tired and there were dark circles under them. He could have sworn that she had been crying.

The concerned friend in him kicked in. "Raven? Erm…are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Came the usual deadpan answer. Maybe now he would go away and leave her alone. She really hated it when her friends acted all concerned about her. It meant having to lie to them…and then came the guilt.

But this time Beast Boy didn't just nod and go away, as was the expected response.

"You sure? Cause… if you need anything…uh… I mean…. if you need somebody to talk to…" Beast Boy gulped. What in the world was he saying? "I'm always here…because…I'm your friend and…um…you can talk to me." There. He'd said it, and he had actually meant it. Go figure.

His pained little speech was met with a long awkward silence.

Then a miracle happened. Raven, THE Raven, Raven of all things gloomy and not happy, gave him one of her rare smiles, then walked off leaving him completely speechless.

'She should really smile more often' Beast Boy thought, relieved that Raven hadn't decked him, 'It makes her look less scary.' He resumed his cheerful walk to the kitchens and just as he turned a corner…

'Wham'

He felt like he had walked into a brick wall.

"Wow Beast Boy, I had no idea your vocabulary was so colorful! And in four different languages too! "

"What the _hell_ are people _doing, _loitering around in the _freaking_ hallway?" Beast Boy said irritably, tweaking his nose carefully to see if it had broken.

"Cheer up BB, I was lookin' for you. Wanna go grab some breakfast? I'm thinking bacon and eggs."

Beast Boy winced. He never understood his metal buddy's love of meat. "Yuk Cyborg. It's like eating me! I've been a chicken! And a pig!"

Cyborg laughed, "Yeah, you're right about being a pig. I mean, BB, seriously, when _are_ you going to clean up your room! I swear I've seen a mutated pizza slice in there!"

"I'll clean it up when Beyonce becomes your girlfriend."

"She wishes…but speaking of girlfriends, what's this I hear from Robin 'bout you and Terra?" Cyborg grinned at the lovesick expression that appeared on Beast Boy's face upon hearing Terra's name. It was about time those two crazy lovebirds got together. All that flirty bickering was driving him up the wall. Now if only someone could something about the other two…

"She...said yes, then we…it was …sigh…so good!"

"I hear you man." Cyborg was happy for Beast Boy. After all the painful rejections and put downs from countless girls, the guy had finally gotten himself a yes.

They entered the kitchen to see Robin hunched over the table top, staring unseeingly into a huge mug of coffee. Then when Cyborg went to pour himself a cup, he found that the coffee pot was empty.

"Robin! How much coffee have you had?" Cyborg asked as he made a fresh pot.

Robin lifted his head and frowned, like he was trying very hard to remember something. "This should be the fourth? I'm not really sure…"

Cyborg and Beast Boy shared a worried look. It wasn't like Robin not to be sure about something. The guy noticed every bloody thing. He never missed a single detail. That was what made him so successful at detective work. He always knew everything there was to know about anything or anyone.

"Hay Rofvin, ish shomefing wong?" Beast Boy asked through a mouthful of tofu and bean sprout sandwich.

Robin grimaced at the sight of Beast Boy's open mouth and looked back down at his coffee. "It's nothing. I was just up really late last night." Let them think it was about Slade, he thought tiredly. In actual fact, Robin couldn't sleep because his thoughts kept on being straying to a certain violet eyed sorceress sleeping only a few bedrooms away from his. But he wasn't going to tell Cyborg and Beast Boy that.

"K, just don't work too hard. Superheroes need R&R too…"Cyborg said as he switched on the coffee machine.

The kitchen door flung open and in walked Raven. She froze at the sight of Robin and swallowed hard. If she did a transportation spell now, she would be gone before he even thought of looking up.

"Hey Rae!"

Damn, she thought. There were only two other people in the world other than Robin who dared to call her Rae. And the only one at Titans tower was Cyborg. As much as she loved and respected Cyborg, Raven felt she could have quite willingly strangled him at that moment.

At the sound of her name however, Robin's head instantly flew up. He tried to catch her eyes but she deliberately turned her back to him and went to the cupboards. No doubt to get her damn tea cup. He scowled at her back and leaned forward, studying her, his tiredness momentarily forgotten. He felt as pissed as hell. How could she let a kiss come between their friendship? Well, aside from the fact that it was a mind blowing, earth shattering, _damn_ _good_ kiss, but still?

Cyborg watched with amusement as Raven made her daily cup of tea. For Raven, making tea was like performing a ritual. Everything had to be done slowly and painstakingly in an exact order to produce one steaming hot cup of tranquility.

However, Cyborg couldn't help noticing that today's tea making ritual was rather hurried. Raven's hands jerked when she titled the kettle, sloshing hot water onto the counter top. Then after she had hastily cleaned up the spill, Raven grabbed her cup and practically flew out of the kitchen, totally forgetting to put any sugar in her tea. And Raven never drank tea without sugar.

Immediately after Raven left, Robin got up, placed his mug in the sink, got a tin out of the cupboard, and excused himself.

Cyborg smiled to himself. Dark girl's strange behavior probably had something to do with the fact that Robin had not taken his eyes off her from the moment she walked into the kitchen. He had stared at her the entire time…and man did the poor boy look angry, or was it hungry…

Cyborg looked over at Beast Boy to see if he had noticed Raven and Robin's unusual performance. But of course Beast Boy was oblivious to anything outside the world of him and his sandwich.

Some things never change, Cyborg thought humorously, but then again, some do.

People were so easy to fool. Maintaining a façade was easier than he had ever imagined; after all, people only saw what they expected to see. Didn't they? He was bursting with excitement and anticipation. He could see the signs and oh how he wanted to begin the party. But he had to rally the troops first and show them the plan. It was time to party! But why? Because Robin had it coming.

The minute Robin was out of the kitchen; he broke into a fast sprint up the many floors of the Titan tower to the roof. And he didn't even break a sweat. Slamming the roof door open he looked around for Raven. She had better be there, he thought grimly, because he had something very important to say.

There was a cup sitting on the ledge; it was full. Robin smiled to himself and placed the tin of sugar he had grabbed in the kitchen beside the cup. Where was that woman? He dipped a finger into the tea, judging it to be near lukewarm. And Raven always took her tea very hot, so that would put her here at least… 9 minutes ago. Looking round at his surroundings, Robin searched for a dark cape flapping in the wind, or the slender form of his sorceress. Where the hell was she?

Raven couldn't remember when she had really felt completely at peace with the world. The music of the waves soothed her frazzled nerves and the warmth of the sun seeped into her tired bones. And there was no need to worry about getting sunburn as her skin never tanned. It probably had something to do with her being half daemon and all. Anyway, her skin had been pale from birth and she had never once gotten a freckle in her life.

Besides, Raven thought gloomily, freckles are for happy people. Not a half daemon with a manic sociopath for a Father that wants to destroy all life. She sighed, absently tracing ancient runes in the silky sand.

"Hey"

Raven looked up with an angry scowl on her face, ready to ward off any unwanted company. But when she saw who it was, she smiled welcomingly. "Hey."

"You ok?"

She replied with a shrug.

"So what are you doing here all by yourself?" He said, sitting down beside her. "I thought you weren't the sun and sand kind of girl."

"Humph. So according to you, what kind of girl am I?"

"Uh…" he ran long fingers through his black hair, "definitely not outdoorsy."

She gave a small laugh. "Huh, you'd be surprised how much time I spend outdoors. I like being outside. It's…liberating."

"That is precisely the reason why I don't understand why you humans like to stay in those concrete things. Don't you ever get claustrophobic?"

"It's called a building." She said dryly, "And no, we don't get claustrophobic…well some do. But only under special circumstances."

Seeing the confused look on his face, she decided to change the subject. "Well, don't you ever feel like the ocean is too overwhelming?"

"No."

"Really? Not even once?"

He shook his head vigorously, showering her with droplets of salt water.

"Hey! Watch it fishboy, you're getting water all over me."

"You see, definitely not the outdoorsy type." Aqua Lad said with a smug grin.

"Excuse me, but I don't see what does getting splattered with water have to do being outdoorsy!" Raven said haughtily.

"If you were an outdoorsy person, you wouldn't mind being getting dirty… or wet."

Raven gave him her ever famous raised eyebrow glare, to which he countered with a superior smirk.

Then she waved her hand lazily and engulfed him in a magical spray of golden sand, allowing herself a self satisfied smirk at the sound of his outraged yell.

"Argh! Yuk. That's disgusting." He turned to his side and spat onto the sand, "What was that for?"

"If you were an outdoorsy person; which you obviously are, you shouldn't mind getting wet…or dirty."

Aqua Lad glared at her for so long that she started to wonder if he was actually angry at her, but then a heartwarming smile appeared on his handsome face and she couldn't help but smile in return.

"You better get back to the ocean."

"What?"

"Your skin looks rather dry…"

"But you still haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

"I asked you if you were ok."

"Yes, I'm fine" she sighed. What was with people and their never ending questions?

"I'm just concerned about you." Aqua Lad took her hand. "Something's obviously disturbing you. And I'm not going to let you go until you tell me what."

Raven bit her lip, trying to think up of an excuse.

"And don't try to come up with some pathetic excuse Rae, they may work on the Titans, but not on me."

"They don't work on Robin…" She corrected.

"Yeah well that's because he's a paranoid nutcase."

Raven laughed softly.

"So it's about him again isn't it?" Aqua Lad said softly. It wasn't so much a question as it was a statement.

"He kissed me yesterday."

"What?"

"Then I threw him out of my room. And told him never to touch me again."

"Oh Rae…"

"Garth, I think I have developed an emotion for him."

Aqua Lad looked into his friend's eyes and saw through her icy façade into the sadness and frustration inside her. She was so lonely and sad. He gave her a hug.

Normally Raven would have shunned such an intimate act, but this was Garth, her oldest friend in the world. They had known each other since childhood.

"I don't know what to do. I'm so lost." Raven suppressed the slight quaver in her voice and threw an extra mental hold over her emotions, "I don't know why, but I want to…feel this new emotion. But then the prophesy says….Oh I'm so confused!"

She made a noise of frustration, causing Aqua Lad to smile. She was so cute sometimes. It was too bad that not many people saw this side of hers very often.

Aqua Lad pulled away and looked deep into her eyes, his gaze serious. " Whatever happens, you should always follow your heart."

"But…"

"You can't let that old bastard ruin your life Raven. You _are_ stronger than him no matter what you think. You have to fight back. This prophecy's going to happen one way or another and when it does, I don't want to loose you. Maybe this new emotion is a good thing, but you'll never know until you find out. You have to trust in yourself…and in Robin. Tell him the truth."

Raven looked at her friend and confidant. Her mother had once said to her that the Atlantians were very wise and any advice given by them was well worth following. But what he was asking of her was too hard.

She opened her mouth to answer him but stopped. There was someone approaching.

Pulling her hand out of Aqua Lad's, Raven stood and waited. He was coming.

Robin could not believe his eyes. What the hell was Raven doing with Aqua Lad? He ran swiftly down to the beach, grabbed Raven by the waist and pulled her firmly to his side. "I've been looking for you."

Raven tried to free herself from his tight hold but he was too strong. "What do you want Robin…"

"I've got to talk to you." He growled, glaring murderously at Aqua Lad. "Now."

Raven rolled her eyes at his over-dramatized tone and looked pointedly at Aqua Lad.

Who, from the moment Robin came tearing down the beach, had gotten up and was standing there with an amused smile on his face, gave her a shrug.

"Just do what I said, ok? Everything will be alright, trust me" said Aqua Lad to Raven, and with a cheeky salute to Robin, dived into the waves and disappeared.

Robin's jaw clenched and said, more loudly than he had intended, "Now you better tell me what was all that about, or so help me, I'll…"

"You'll what? Make me go into the naughty room?" Raven drawled sarcastically. "You're not my mother."

"Raven. Don't try my patience. Tell me what you and that creep were doing together!"

Raven snapped. She had been under enough emotional strain lately; she didn't need this from him. "Listen to me Boy Blunder, no one tells me what to do; especially not some birdbrain superhero that prances around in _green_ _tights_."

And with that, she vanished, leaving Robin grasping thin air.

Robin took some controlled breaths, calming himself. He had to curb his anger. And jealously... The green eyed monster had sunk its claws into his heart when he saw Raven with Aqua Lad on the beach. How could she kiss him senseless one day and spend the next alone with some other guy?

Robin glared at the ocean and its dancing waves and for a moment, could have sworn he heard a mocking laugh. Then with a tired sigh, he strode back to the Tower, determined to have his talk with Raven. She could try and hide from him, but he would find her, it was only the matter of time.

Hey all,

I've decided to thicken the plot and take 'Matchmakers matchmade' into deeper waters. And don't worry. There's absolutely no romantic connection between Aqua lad and Raven. I've decided to call him Alvin though, it means noble friend in elvish…anyway, want to know about the prophecy they're talking about?

Well then, you'll just have to wait for the next chapter, don't you!

Don't you just hate me!

Hope you enjoyed the story!

theLilyLady


	10. chapter nine

Raven stalked down the dark alleyway, her bowels protesting at the pungent smells emanating from various boxes and trashcans. Her hands were clenched tightly at her side and she was brimming with unresolved anger. Where were criminals when you needed them? She was looking for some serious butt to kick, and since she couldn't very well beat up her team leader, she had decided to settle with robbers and thieves.

There was a loud crunch from behind her and out of a multitude to muffed laughs, a leering voice called out, "Hello there little girlie, whatcha doing here, all alone?"

Raven smiled to herself and turned around slowly. In a matter of seconds, she knew everything from where they stood to what they had in their hands.

The poor fools. Raven almost pitted them for what was about to happen. How were they supposed to know she was a superhero with supernatural powers? She had changed into a black jumpsuit so that her costume wouldn't be dirtied, so to them, she looked just like a lost teenage girl. One they all intended to share with judging from the lustful gleam in their eyes.

Raven had pinpointed the speaker, a giant hulk of a man with a sagging beer pot, obviously the leader of their little gang. "Well, I was looking for trash, but it seems that it's found me…"

She could practically see the wheels in his tiny brain turning as he tried to understand what she said. Then the insult hit home and his eyes turned into angry slits.

"I'll teach you not speak to me that way, little girlie. I'll teach you good." And with a roar, he charged towards her.

Raven waited until he was almost unto her, then sidestepped out of the path of his rampage, and tripped him with her foot. To give him credit, he didn't fall, but her little trick had angered him.

"You're not a very good teacher. Maybe that's because you're so stupid and slow…"

She saw his eyes widen at her jeer and smiled with satisfaction. She had once thought Robin's cliché speeches stupid, but one day she had realized that they weren't meant to inspire truth and justice, they were to distract the enemy. So now she followed in suit, but used words of abuse instead. Her jeers angered the man, clouding his concentration and focus with his own fury. That was how it was with psychological manipulation. And it was damn fun too.

Raven ducked the swinging blow he sent her way. The force of his swing unbalanced him momentarily and she chose that opportune moment to kick his legs out from under him. He fell heavily but recovered quickly enough to make a grab for her legs. But Raven flipped backwards, avoiding his big, grasping hands.

"Ewwww…" She cried, looking disgustedly at the muck and goodness-knows-what on her hands. Then suddenly, an arm locked tightly around her neck, catching her by surprise. Thinking fast, she jammed an elbow into the soft gut of her assailant and stomped on his toes. The man grunted in pain but didn't loosen his hold. Instead he pushed her forward, with the intention of jamming her against the wall of a building. But Raven had other ideas. Running up the wall, she broke his hold on her and landed cat-like behind him. Then she gave him the hardest kick she could muster, right in the middle of his bum. Her foot connected with bone and she smiled, thankful that she had thought to wear steel-toed boots.

He howled and turned around with murder in his eyes. "Bitch! You'll pay for that!"

Raven just rolled her eyes and kicked him between the legs. The man squeaked and fell to the ground, whimpering in agony.

"Boys, get her!" she heard the boss yell.

His little friends, who until then had been cheering their boss on, sprang out and attacked by the dozens. With both skill and grace, she dodged, kicked and whacked until all were unconscious at her feet. Raven sighed, feeling much relaxed. She stretched luxuriously, working out all the knots and aches in her body.

Suddenly a hand gripped her ankle painfully and she looked down. It was the boss man. "This isn't over little girlie!"

"School's over," Raven said, and sent him to dreamland.

"That wasn't very nice." A voice said from above.

Raven froze, her relaxed body tensed. She knew who it was.

"I'm not a very nice girl." She replied.

A body dropped silently from the sky and landed in the midst of the unconscious men, inspecting the inspecting the damage she had caused.

Raven crossed her arms and waited for the verdict.

"Good. You've gotten better. I'm impressed."

She shrugged nonchalantly, though secretly she was pleased, "I've got a good teacher."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Don't let it go to your head…" Raven said sullenly as she walked away.

"Have I ever?" she could hear footsteps following her.

"I don't call you bighead for nothing."

"Raven I have to talk to you."

She quickened her pace but came to a halt when she heard him say "Please."

Robin hardly ever used the word please. He demanded, bribed, coerced, manipulated, but rarely ever asked.

Raven turned and took a deep breath. For the sake of their friendship, she would listen. She took a deep breath and said, "End simulation."

The dark alleyway, its unconscious occupants and the horrid smells disappeared, leaving two figures standing in the middle of a green stage.

It was a Christmas gift from the Justice League, the newest in cybertronic technology. The contraption consisted of a main computer and a large stage that tapped into the subconscious mind, taking a person into a simulated world where all the senses were fulfilled. Everything was 'real' and one could actually get physically hurt during the simulation. The Titans used it to construct in all kinds of situations wherein which they could practice, though sometimes it was used simply for fun.

Raven walked to Robin's side and sat down on the stage.

"Let's talk."

People, people, people…

The next installment will be up as soon as possible, so don't fret. The prophecy's written, everything's explained, but I just need to check out a couple of things before I finish the next chapter. And to make things worse, I have exams (stupid bloody things) coming up so…you'll just have to wait. Sorry!

But I can tell you this.

There's going to be a kiss.

theLilyLady


	11. Chapter 10

Robin sank to the ground beside Raven and set his jaw resolutely. He was not going to let her go until he had their 'kiss' situation properly settled.

"Raven, we have to talk about us."

Raven swore to herself. She had been hoping that Robin would apologize for the kiss, vow to her that it would never happen again and then go away. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb Raven. You know exactly what I mean."

"What if I don't want to talk about it," Raven declared, thrusting out her chin stubbornly at him.

"Then I'll just have to make you."

Raven's eyes narrowed at his words and she fixed Robin with a vehement glare. He didn't cringe, as most people did when she did this, but then; his eyes were hidden behind a mask so she couldn't really tell. Raven felt trapped. And hated it.

She knew lying to Robin was pointless since he was like a human lie detector, so her only option was to leave. Getting up and walking away would most likely end up with a painful tussle and him ultimately winning. She could evoke a teleportation spell but doing the spell so close to Robin would be futile; he'll just grab her. That boy could move fast, that was for sure. Raven knew that if she didn't answer his question, they'd be stuck sitting on the stage for a long, long time. Stupid, persistent jerk, she thought.

"Fine! What do you want me to say?"

Robin made a sound of exasperation. "Something, anything! Just don't try and pretend it never happened, because it did!"

"You know as well as I that I cannot…" Raven bit her lip, stopping herself from finishing the damming sentence. 'I cannot love you' her heart cried silently. But she would never admit her love to him. Raven blurted out an old excuse off the top of her head, "I cannot let my emotions get out of control."

"Oh Raven, it's not like I'm expecting you to let them all run loose. I just don't want you to deprive yourself of something so great and wonderful."

"What's so great and wonderful about a kiss?" Raven lied, suppressing the rush of joy that came when she remembered the touch of Robin's lips upon hers.

"Would you like me to remind you?" Robin said in a low, husky tone, and leaned in towards her.

Raven froze. Time came to an abrupt stop. Her hearing was drowned by the rapid thudding of her heart. She simply couldn't take her eyes off Robin's face as he got closer and closer…Then suddenly, Raven freaked out and pulled back, her eyes filled with confusion and her cheeks flushed.

Robin smirked inwardly. Looks like Raven wasn't as unaffected by their kiss as she tried to be. He studied Raven as she tried to get herself under control and frowned. How was he going to get her to see that burying those new-found feelings of hers was a bad idea? Robin already knew that he was falling in love with Raven. Hell, he'd probably been falling in love with her ever since the day they'd met. But he'd just been too thick-headed to recognize it until the day they had kissed.

"Raven..."

She made no reply but wrapped her arms around herself, a sure sign that she was planning to ignore him.

Robin took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. "Raven, please don't push me away. Please trust me."

Raven felt her hard resolve crack at his soft pleading words. Oh how she yearned to tell him the truth, to tell she would trust him with her life, but there was just too much at stake. To admit her feelings to Robin would encourage him to further their relationship and she could not afford to do that. To keep her control on her emotions, she would have to shut him away from her. Loosing control could be fatal.

Then Raven remembered Aqua Lad's words, 'You have to trust in yourself…and in Robin. Tell him the truth…You can't let that old bastard ruin your life Raven.' So Raven made her decision.

Raven sat up straight and squared her shoulders. Facing Robin, she said, "I trust you."

His smile made her heart flutter. It held such patience and love.

'But will he ever look at me like that again,' Raven thought, 'once he knows about my past?"

Raven twined her fingers together nervously and began her story.

"There was once a powerful priestess who lived in a village in Kagoshima. In return for food and shelter, she protected the people from the demons and evil spirits that roamed the forests surrounding the village. She was a kind woman and the people treasured her very much.

"Then everything went wrong. It was the first day of the new moon when a dim star was born in the sky. The priestess was hunting demons in the forest when she was attacked from behind. The villagers found her the next morning and took her back to the village. They tended to her wounds, but it was discovered that she had been raped and was pregnant. Because no man in the village would ever dare to defile the priestess in that way, they suspected that she was carrying a demon's child. Fearing the half demonic baby inside of her, they ran her out of the village, throwing stones after her. Even after all the times she had saved the village, they weren't even grateful enough to give her some food. They drove her away, like an animal. "

Raven's voice was deadpan, but Robin could feel the anger and bitterness radiating from her body, and her eyes were overly bright. Unconsciously, his hand sought hers and clasped them in his encouragingly.

Raven didn't even notice the movement. She was too caught up with her story.

"The priestess walked on for many days, stumbling on half-blindly until she came to the ocean. There, she performed a powerful spell that almost drained her life-force. The spell summoned a great fish that took her into the ocean depths, to the sunken City of Atlantis. There, with the care and help of the Atlantians, she gave birth to a baby girl. She was a hanyou. A half human and half demon child. The birth weakened the priestess' body even further. She became so…weak and frail. But she clung onto her life…so her child wouldn't have to be alone in the world."

A tear fell from Raven's eye and splashed onto their entwined hands. Robin's heart felt as if it could break, seeing Raven look so sad and forlorn. He tightened his hold on her.

"She was my mother, the most untainted of spirits. That's why the great fish answered her call. It recognized the pureness of her soul. Even though life was cruel to her, she had no hatred or malice in her heart. Just forgiveness, understanding…and love. My mother died when I was seven. Her body was so tired…it just stopped working."

Raven shut her eyes against a fresh flood of hot tears as a memory swam into her mind, as sharp and clear as if it happened yesterday.

flashback

A young Raven was playing in the royal gardens with a little atlantian named Alvin. He was chasing her and she was laughing at him for being too slow. Then she heard her mother's sweet voice calling her.

"Raven! Raven, come here, I've got something for you!"

Smiling widely at the promise of a present, Raven ran towards her mother and flung her arms around her mother's legs.

"Mama! What is it? Is it pretty?"

The beautiful black haired woman with stunning amethyst eyes gazed lovingly down at her daughter and laughed delightedly at Raven's disheveled appearance. Raven's gown was muddied all down the front, her sash was twisted and the ribbon in her hair was gone, leaving her hair in a mass of tangles all around her rosy face.

The woman kneeled down and reached inside her midnight blue cloak, taking out a small old-looking box. It had runes and magical symbols etched into its sides and, as perceived by the Raven's senses, radiated with power. Her mother opened the box and in it, cushioned by black silk, was a pure opal. It was of only one colour; dark purple.

Raven gave a cry of glee at the sight of the 'pretty stone' and asked her mother "is that for me?"

"Yes dear. It is an opal, a gift from me to you. As a promise that I will always be with you, no matter what happens"

The solemnity of her mother's voice had Raven looking back up at her mother in fright. "You're not going away, are you?" She asked anxiously.

Her mother immediately set the box aside and drew Raven into her warm embrace, "No! I will never leave you. You're too precious to me. I love you Raven!"

Reassured by her mother's words, Raven returned the hug and breathed in the calming scent of her mother. Then she tucked the opal into her sash and ran off to play with Alvin. Everything was going to be alright. Mother had said she was never going to leave her. And they would stay in Atlantis forever and ever.

But her mother had lied. The next morning, Raven had run into her mother's like any other day; only to find that her mother was as cold as ice.

end flashback

"In my grief, I caused a massive earthquake in Atlantis, the first in a thousand years. More than a hundred people were killed." Raven said softly, "I was banished from my home and sent to learn how to control my powers on an island above the ocean. Alvin came to visit sometimes…he was the only one who came."

Robin was filled with an unexplainable rage towards the Atlantians. How could they have subjected a sorrowful little girl who had just lost her mother to a lonely exile on a deserted island?

Raven must have known what he was thinking because she smiled sadly and said, "I don't blame them for doing what they did. I was a danger to everybody if I couldn't control my destructive powers. And they had taken a big risk before, giving my mother safety and shelter to raise a hanyou with unknown powers like me."

"You see, there is a prophecy, foretold by the old ones of Atlantis since the beginning of time." With a graceful wave of her hand, flaming words appeared in the air as if they were being scorched into the air. Robin read them quickly.

_When the era of the old Kings are forgotten,_

_And the magic of mortals, weak._

_The Darkness will rise to swallow the Light,_

_And all life shall perish yet again._

_When born a star of darkest light,_

_A hanyou of magic corrupt and pure, will be conceived._

_Within her will be a soul at war,_

_Wrought from the greatest good and cruelest evil._

_She alone holds the key to Darkness's true victory_

_And is the only hope for Light's salvation. _

_She must combat the greatest evil or be destroyer of all life, _

_And so end her inner war, and decide the fate of the world._

The words turned into smoke and faded away.

Raven looked down at her hands, too ashamed to look Robin in the eye lest he see the tears in her eyes. "I am the child in the prophecy Robin. To save the world, I have to destroy the greatest evil…my father. That's why I need to have complete control over my emotions. If my powers fail me because I am afraid…or if Rage consumes me…then the world will perish. Because of me…"

She fell silent. Her story was finally told. Now Robin would know why she hid herself behind impassive walls and why she strove so hard for control of her feelings. Now he would understand why she could not love him.

A hand cupped her cheek and drew her face gently up. Her eyes, full of tears, met two startling blue eyes. They were as unfathomable as the ocean and were framed with thick ebony eyelashes.

"Robin, you took off your mask…" Raven said stupidly.

The black mask had been cast carelessly onto the ground; Robin had disappeared and in his place was a handsome blue eyed boy that took Raven's breath away.

Robin's eyes bored into hers, piercing through her carefully built wall into her soul. His gaze woke parts of her that had lay dormant for years and lit up others that she had never known existed. He spoke to her without words and comforted her without touch. Raven could feel his sorrow for the loss of her mother, his anger at her abuse, his understanding and respect for her determination to face her destiny, but most of all, his infinite love for her.

The dam that she had her tears held behind for years cracked and burst. Raven drew her knees to her chest and hid her face in her hands, shuddering as cry after cry racked through her body. She felt Robin's arms encircle her into a tight embrace and hold her protectively against his chest. His warmth seeped into her, driving away the cold despair that clawed at her heart. Raven instinctively burrowed into his warmth and let all the tears of pain, injustice, loss, loneliness, anger and frustration that she had never cried flow freely. And with each tear, the tight knot that she had carried in her heart ever since her mother's death loosened bit by bit.

Then finally, spent of all her tears, Raven rested her head on Robin's shoulder. Save for her occasional hiccup, they both sat in silence for what seemed to be ages. She felt the heavy but comforting weight of his arms around her and sighed softly.

"I'm – hic – sorry," she mumbled bashfully, "I didn't mean to blubber all over you."

"Don't be." His deep voice chuckled.

"Your shirt is – hic – soaked through."

"I've got others…" his breath tickled the base of her neck, making the small fine hairs stand on their ends. How was it that he could make her shiver all over?

"I hate this stu – hic – pid hiccup – hic – ping." She said sullenly.

Robin smiled and stroked her arm gently. How long had he wanted to do this, to be close to her, to touch her like this?

He heard her laugh softly.

"What's so funny?"

"Look – hic – around us."

The simulator looked like a wreck. Wires had been torn out of their sockets, shredded cables were strewn all over the floor and the main computer looked fried.

"Do you think Cyborg can fix it?" Robin asked hopefully.

"Do you think pigs can fly?" Raven replied dryly.

"Sure, if they're genetically altered."

Raven snorted, "ever the optimist, aren't you?"

"Well someone's gotta be," Robin said, swiveling his head down to look at her, "besides, if my optimistic self wasn't here, think of how miserable you'd be."

"I'll live."

"But miserably. You're too much of a pessimist Raven, without me around to cheer you up; you'll never have any fun."

"Are you calling me a bore just because I don't find playing those senseless video games of yours fun?" Raven said indignantly, "what's so great about them anyway? All they do is simply what we do everyday! And don't you know that staring at that stupid screen for hours is bad…for…you…Robin, what are you doing?"

"Hmmmmm?"

Raven swallowed. Hard. "What…what are you doing to my neck?"

"Tasting you. You know I've always wondered what you taste like."

"Really…" Raven cringed. Instead of the deadpan tone she was going for, the word came out as a croak. "So…what …what do I taste like?"

"You taste like…like vanilla…I like vanilla…"

"Robin, please stop..." Raven pleaded softly, torn between her demand and an unexplainable urge for him to move those magically lips of his _down her neck to her…_Raven gasped suddenly. Robin had reached that tender spot between her collarbones and gently **_nipped_ **her.

He stopped immediately. Raven felt his concerned gaze on her and blushed.

"I'm sorry;" he murmured apologetically, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's ok Robin, you didn't" she said automatically, alarmed by the distress in his eyes.

"No, call me Richard." He said, stroking her cheek.

Raven smiled at the boy she had always known as Robin, and now as Richard.

Robin had never seen anything so beautiful before in his life. Raven's eyes held none of their usual haunted gloom. They had peace in them now. A serene smile played across her lips, lightening her somber face and putting life into her cheeks. She was breathtaking.

Raven leaned into his touch. She wished that they could just stay like this forever. But she could not ignore her duty to the world.

"Richard."

"Yes Raven?" he muttered, more preoccupied in his study of the soft angles of her face.

"Now do you understand why we can't be together?"

Richard stared at her, his soft blue eyes suddenly darkening, "No."

"But the prophecy, I need to be in control of my powers when I battle the evil one." Raven started babbling, "If I don't defeat him, everyone will perish and it'll be all my faul…"

Richard hushed her with a kiss.

Raven didn't know why she let him kiss her again; maybe it was because of her incredibly emotional state at that moment, or maybe it was just the simple fact that she really wanted to kiss him again. She had looked into the depths of his ocean eyes and decided to take the plunge. To dive off her safe but lonely cliff into the tempest sea below. And it didn't matter if she was overwhelmed by the waves, because she knew that he would never let her drown.

Robin felt like he was soaring. He had always loved the sensation of flying, to feel lighter than air, the pounding of his heart beneath his chest and the rush of adrenalin through his veins. All the burdens and worries of the world were left on the ground and in those precious moments, he felt complete freedom and exhilaration. Well, he had just discovered that kissing Raven was a hell of a lot better than flying.

They broke apart for air, both shivering slightly with newfound excitement. Robin tenderly kissed the nook between Raven's neck and ear, causing her to mew softly. Arching her neck back, Raven closed her eyes and purred in contentment as Robin planted kisses all the way down her neck to her shoulder.

"Stop that." He snapped irritably.

Raven's eyes flew open in surprise. "Stop what?"

"That…purring…is….driving…me…crazy" Robin said in between kisses.

"I don't purr." Raven mumbled as she drew lazy circles on his back with her fingertip.

"Raven, stop it," Robin jerked away and grabbed her hand, grimacing at the wounded expression in her eyes. "Rae, do you have any idea what you do to me?" He whispered breathlessly in her ear.

"No…" Raven felt really confused. What was with him? One moment he wanted her to kiss him, the next, he was telling her to stop. That was it. She had had enough emotional crap for one day. Raven tried to wriggle out of his embrace but Robin growled and gripped her tighter.

"Don't move, you're only making it worse!"

Then she felt it. The look of realization on her face could almost be called comical, if their situation had not been so embarrassing. Her amethyst eyes widened in astonishment and a flush appeared on her cheeks. She had done…that…to him?

"I'm sorry…" she muttered understandingly, "I…um…I can go, if it helps…"

"No, don't…" Robin said quickly, "just try not to move so much, ok?"

Damn these tights, he thought, they really are too constricting.

Raven relaxed her head against Robin's chest and listened to his heart beat. Usually it pounded strongly and steadily. Even when engaged in a fight for his life. Yet at this very moment, she felt it pulse erratically against her ear. Did that mean that he was as affected by her presence as she was by his?

Robin smiled contentedly down at the dark-haired beauty in his arms. There was something unexplainably right about holding her close to him. He couldn't yet figure out the reason, but for once, he couldn't care less. Spending time with Raven was relaxing and fun, he could be himself around her; but her very presence also drove him absolutely wild. Especially her little kitty purrs. Until a while ago, if anyone had told him that Raven was capable of producing such an arousing, sexy sound, he would have immediately admitted them into Arkem. Gently so as not to jar the now slumbering sorceress, he stretched out on his back and arranged her soft form to fit against the hard frames of his body. He tucked her right arm snugly around his waist and cushioned her head carefully on his arm. Breathing in and out in deep breaths, he felt all the tenseness in his muscles slowly seep away. Just as sleep overtook him, he had one last coherent thought, 'Would Raven ever know just how her very presence affected his senses?'

Hey gals and guys,

I wasn't really happy with this chap so I revised it a little…well actually a lot. Anyways, in my opinion, this one's got way more fluff and you know what they say, "The more the merrier!"

Watch out for the next chapter!

theLilyLady


	12. Chapter 12

There are times in a girl's life, where she finds herself wishing that the ground would just open up and swallow her whole. Or that lightening would strike her into a burning crisp. Times like when your hyper-sensitive alien friend asks you to taste her new recipe of only-God-knows-what, or when you first realise that you've got the hots for your team leader. Yet when weighed against what she was feeling now, all that dread and infuriation experienced in those moments kinda paled in comparison.

"Hey guys! Having a _good_ time? Would you like me to come back later?"

If she had not possessed a minimally kind heart, Raven would have gladly turned Cyborg into a vegetable. Possibly a potato. A puny, spotty potato. Then she would stick little Cyborg-potato into the oven, roast him, then take him out and squash his squishy body into mash. Then she would feed him to some well-known vege-loving teen titan and revel in her re…

"Go away Cyborg," a lazy, husky, _very male_ voice growled from the warm body she was currently indecently draped over.

Raven felt her whole body heat up in response to his voice. Oh shit, she groaned mentally. Great, just perfectly great. Fall asleep with Robin why don't ya Raven. And let everyone waltz up and experience the show. And what's with the stupid blushing! Might as well tattoo 'I'm in heat for my team leader' on your bloody head! Why don't you just go shout out to Jump City that you're in love Robin on the Tower top?

Wait. Raven's mouth went dry. I'm in love with Robin?

"What do you want Tin face?" Robin mumbled sleepily, nuzzling his face into the nook of Raven's neck and breathing in her fragrance. She felt tense, not at all soft and yielding as she had been moments before Cyborg decided to make his unwelcome presence known. Robin made a mental note to himself: murder Cyborg.

"Oh nothing much," the metal man answered with a twinkle in his eye, "you see, all I wanted was to set up, or should I say _repair_ the simulator for our team practice. Which is by the way in…say...less than 10 minutes?"

Raven and Robin shot to their feet so fast that they forgot all about their entangled state, resulting with Robin getting floored on his back and Raven inelegantly sprawled over him.

"Oh please! –gasp– If you guys wanted more time alone to –gasp–" Cyborg wheezed painfully through loud gales of laughter, "just say so –gasp– I'll go!"

Annoyed at getting caught, irritated by her clumsiness and downright pissed off by some soon-to-be-potato's laughter, Raven flung herself off Robin and retreated a good distance away, making a show of smoothening out the creases in her jumpsuit.

Then, clothes still crumpled, hair sticking up in awkward angles and nose high in the air, Raven announced that she was going to her room, and that she would make anyone who even dared speak of what just happened suffer for eternity.

And then she fled.

"I trust you're not going to blab about this to the others." Robin said quietly after Raven (and her bruised pride) swept out of the room. It wasn't so much a question than it was a statement.

Cyborg turned to the superhero in surprise, eyebrows raised at the subtle warning. Smiling reproachfully, the robot man sighed lightly, "come on Rob, we're friends. Besides, Rae's like a sister to me. Speaking of which, do I have to ask if you know what you're doing?"

Robin couldn't resist smirking at his best friend's open concern for the sorceress. It was just that if Raven knew that Cyborg was initiating this conversation with him of all people, she'd most likely shred Cyborg into a heap of scrap metal.

Cyborg's mirth vanished, leaving behind a very big, very imposing looking muscled man. And when he spoke, his voice was deadly serious.

"Robin. If you hurt Raven in _any_ way…" he let his words hang in the air, sure that the boy wonder was clever enough to fill in the blanks for himself.

"I could never hurt Raven." Robin's voice sounded devoid of any emotion.

"That's what you think Robin. But you gotta remember, Rae's not like all those other girls you've gone out with. They knew the game, but she doesn't! If what's between you two burns out faster than those infatuations you've had, what's gonna happen to her when you get bored? Raven's not the love-her than leave-her kind of girl, and I'm not going to stand by and watch you play with her feelings. So if you're not serious, then leave her the hell alo–"

"No." Robin almost shouted. Fist clenched and arrogant chin stubbornly up, the superhero drew himself up to his full height. (Which unfortunately still left him half a head shorter than the metal man)

"I love her."

Silence filled the room as the two heroes stood motionless in shock. One stunned by the sudden acclamation of love, and the other inwardly berating himself for stupidly blurting out his (until then) well-hidden feelings.

"Well. I guess that's alright then." Cyborg said in a choked voice, "I mean if you really love her…"

"I do." He said it immediately and without any hesitation. There was no point trying to deny the truth, Robin thought. It even felt strangely relieving; finally being able to admit those suppressed feelings to someone. And at least it was to Cyborg. Robin could always count on him to keep his secrets.

"So," Cyborg coughed embarrassedly, "how long have you…um…been …uh…"

"In love with her?" Robin finished for him unabashedly. "I don't know really."

His azure eyes clouded over and his expression turned pensive, "I think I've been in love with her ever since the first time we met. But I never paid any attention to those feelings. I just assumed they were teenage hormones or something…you know, like some kind of infatuation that would soon blow away…but it didn't go. It stayed. And it bloody irritated me. Then one day I woke up…and I just knew."

"Do you know if she loves you?" Cyborg asked quietly.

Robin frowned. He didn't know. Their relationship, though intimate, had always been friendly and platonic. But now, had they crossed the line from being comrades to maybe something more? He hoped so. Hell, he wasn't even sure what Raven felt for him, whether it was affection or lust. But one thing he did know for certain was that Raven cared deeply for him. And that she responded his kisses. For the moment, that would be enough.

However, Robin did not scare his musings with Cyborg, choosing instead to respond with a shrug.

"I just want to take it slow." He explained, "if I rush Raven, I might scare her away…"

As Robin faltered off, he swung his gaze back to Cyborg. And for a spit-second, Robin marvelled to see a million-watt grin shining brightly against the metal man's tanned face. Then as quick as a flash, it disappeared, leaving behind a cheeky grin and an evil glint in his human eye.

"Hmmm... So now since you two are…as one might so eloquently put it…_at it_," Cyborg wagged his eyebrows suggestively at Robin, "should I be worrying about any _bumping noises_ in the night?"

With a disgusted yell strangled with laughter, Robin flung himself at his friend, swinging his fist in a wide arch to slam into his–

Butt swaying seductively? –check. Hips slightly tilted forward? –check. Lips set in pout mode? –check. Strut forward, position legs and stop. Hair flip –now.

Terra almost giggled at the totally mind-blown expression on Beast Boy's face. He looked so utterly adorable. A loud beeping noise emitted from the machine behind her and the big, blaring red sign GAME OVER appeared on the screen. Yet Beast Boy's eyes never left her body, arranges as it was in a seemingly casual yet _sexy_ pose. If only he knew how long she had spent practicing it in the mirror, almost twisting her ankle trying to master the catwalk. With a quick flutter of her eyelashes, Terra whirled around and sauntered off onto the balcony. 3…2…1. There came a crash from inside and she could hear a mad scrambling. Out of the corner of her eye, Terra could see Beast Boy bounce off the couch and race towards her, leaving behind the evil controller and PC game that had stolen his attention away.

Whoever said that seduction was not an art?

(am not really happy with that last phrase. Can you guys help me think of something better?)

Dear gentle readers,

Haha, I know I've been bad, not updating and everything. What can I say? I've been lazy and my other obsessions have taken up precious writing time. At least I have added a lot of other fantastic Teen Titan stories to my favourites list. Go check them out. All that are there are the best I could find. There's –ahem– Inuyasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, Gundam Seed, Harry Potter, Cardcaptor Sakura (or so I think anyway). So go nuts! Sit in front of the computer all day long and ignore your homework! That's what I've been doing…xx   
And also, this chapter's not finished yet. I just thought you guys shouldn't be made to wait any longer. Sorry again!

theLilyLady

A little snippet of the rest of the chapter.

"Did you know you drool in your sleep?"

Robin's eyes widened in shock and his hand flew up to feel his mouth. Sure enough, there was a trail of dried spit to the right of his bottom lip.

Seeing Robin's horrified expression, Raven added soothingly, "don't worry Robin, I actually think it's kinda adorable."

"You do?" he asked hopefully in a small voice.

Raven snorted, "yeah real turn on. So, wanna tell me what other little sleeping habits you've got? Do you also suck your thumb?"

Robin frowned with displeasure.

"Awww look now you're pouting!"

"I'm not pouting. I don't pout, never have."

"Don't be such a baby…" Raven crooned. "And you _are_ pouting."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am NOT!"

"You know, when you're mad, you get these little creases on your face. Right here." Leaning forward, Raven lightly brushed her lips across his forehead.

Robin's whole body went taut with shock and, much as he hated to admit it, desire. What did…did she just…was Raven alright?


End file.
